Refugee

“If I am not for me, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?” –Hillel the Elder

At Jewish Family Services, our history is directly tied to generations of refugees and asylum seekers from across the world coming to the United States seeking safety, security, and a chance at the American Dream. From Russian Jews in the 1980s and 1990s to Somali and Bhutanese-Nepali refugees in more recent years, Jewish Family Services has worked tirelessly to envelop refugees into the Central Ohio community and provide them a foothold from which to grow. We aim to assist refugees with the transition to American life, the foundation of which is steady, sensible employment.

Hillel’s famous questions challenge us to understand that the noblest way to live is in service of others. Jewish Family Services is for everyone, right now, including our refugee neighbors who so greatly enrich our communities. Through a comprehensive intake and placement process, we endeavor to provide our clients with a foundation for success and the opportunity for upward mobility, much as the Jewish people were granted fresh starts in new places throughout our migratory history.

A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country due to persecution. If the person comes to the U.S. for economic reasons, that person is an immigrant. Immigrants do not automatically arrive in the U.S. with the legal right to work. Refugees, however, are granted many rights, including the right to work by the Geneva Convention and U.S. immigration law.

Each year, Americans welcome refugees to the U.S. Whether refugees come from the D.R.C., Bhutan, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, or another part of the world, all refugees share a similar journey. Refugees differ from other immigrants in that they do not have the choice to remain in their home country. Refugees flee their country to save their lives. They run from war and persecution, often losing or leaving behind beloved family members along the way.

Many refugees then spend years and sometimes decades in substandard refugee camps. Less than 1% of all refugees get the chance to leave a camp and resettle in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Australia, or another country that resettles refugees.

It is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Migration & Refugees (PRM) to oversee America’s support of refugees overseas, as well as the selection and transportation of refugees to the U.S. and their assignment to a local community for resettlement.

Jewish Family Services provides holistic workforce development services to refugees and asylees whom have been in the country five years or less. This population faces unique obstacles, and our goal is to build relationships with our clients that empower them in the job market as they adjust to life in a new country.

Our clients come from all over the world and speak upward of 20 languages. In the past 10 years, the refugee population in Central Ohio has primarily consisted of people from Somalia and Ethiopia. Recent trends, however, have increased the number of refugees from East Asia, primarily Bhutan, and from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Eritrea. Jewish Family Services also has the honor of serving Special Immigrant Visa holders (SIVs) from Iraq and Afghanistan. These are individuals who worked to help the U.S. military in their countries.

Unique to our program design is the emphasis we place on building relationships with employers. We work to ensure that our clients are ready for the job by providing the employer with support and by anticipating or troubleshooting any issues that may occur. We provide diversity training for employers and Human Resources personnel, translation assistance, and transportation coordination services. We look to the feedback from each employer so that we can prepare our clients to exceed each employer’s expectations. Jewish Family Services provides cultural training and workshops to companies in Central Ohio. This kind of diversity training has enriched the workforce of Central Ohio.

We teach candidates the “Language of the Workplace”–the specific language used in the workplace. Our workshops also help recent refugees navigate the difference between their cultures and the culture of the workplace in the U.S.